Photorealistic images with vector graphics
Conclusion
Is it truly possible to extend the resolution-independent property of text to general images? Well, that depends on the image. Everything can be vectorized, but an image with a lot of local detail might currently still result in a gradient mesh composed of a large number of cells. Vectorization through diffusion curves is also becoming possible, although this technique suffers from similar issues. In academia, it is a topic of active research.
Ultimately, scalable photorealistic images will only catch on if the concept is supported through open standards such as the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) standard [4]. A proposal to add gradient meshes to a future version of SVG has been around for a while, but this concept largely depends on support from web browsers. Surprisingly, there seems to be very little interest among the major browser vendors in incorporating something so potentially revolutionary. The need to raise awareness about this promising technology is one of my reasons for writing this article. I hope the amazing artwork created with the current generation of vector graphics tools will bring wider support for these advanced techniques.
For a more technical description of the techniques described in this article, see the article I co-wrote with Martijn Luinstra, Jonathan Hogervorst, and Jirí Kosinka for the journal The Visual Computer, which is available online [5].
Infos
- FontForge: https://fontforge.github.io/
- Birdfont: https://birdfont.org/
- DeviantArt: https://www.deviantart.com/
- Scalable Vector Graphics Format: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Vector_Graphics
- "Locally Refinable Gradient Meshes Supporting Branching and Sharp Colour Transitions" by Pieter J. Barendrecht, Martijn Luinstra, Jonathan Hogervorst, and Jirí Kosinka, The Visual Computer, issue 6-8, vol. 34, June 2018, pp. 949-960, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00371-018-1547-1
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